I’m thinking about growing a few white mulberries in my yard in Phoenix because, unlike the dark ones, they (being the birds) won’t stain the tons of concrete we have around here.
I’ve been hesitant for a while, given their reputation for tasting “insipid,” “like a sweet leaf,” or “like sugar water dipped kleenex,” but I figure that given the hot and dry growing conditions out here, I probably could get decent fruit.
Any recommendations? I’ve heard good things about Tehama. I tried the Shahtoot King White Pakistan from Just Fruits and Exotics a few years back, but both young trees died in a freeze that went to 20 degrees before I had a chance to try the fruit and I want something hardier this time.
i actually have the same sentiments about white-fruited mulbs re taste, but if it is non-staining and good-eating that you want, the regular pakistani does not stain as much as other dark-fruited mulbs. If this is not going to work, you might want to check the whites and pinks at http://www.burntridgenursery.com/Mulberry/products/20/1/0
Some morus alba produce white fruits. Some morus alba produce black or purplish fruits. Unless it’s a known cultivar, then it’s a crap shoot. Albas have also cross-bred with native morus rubras for decades, so there’s a lot of hybrids naturalized out there. I find more black-colored albas than white-colored albas when I’m out in the field.
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but sometimes the white-colored mulberries I find have a slimy film on them. When I find them like this, they have an inferior taste and texture.
They can be good. The best morus alba I’ve ever eaten was from a montrously mature tree near the Potomac River in historic Harpers Ferry, WV. It had fat sweet and juicy white-colored fruits (with occassional purple spotting). There are a few ancient mulberry trees in Harpers Ferry. Each of them drops hundreds of berries in late May/ early June.
If you live in Phoenix and want fruit with white (non-staining) arils, then you might be much better off trying the lighter colored pomegranates like “Eversweet” or “Pink Satin” (see here; scroll down):
Not a big pomegranate fan, although I have Angel Red and Parfianka. The trees do ok with less water, but the fruit quality really, really suffers. The best ones that I’ve tasted here have come from growers that heavily irrigate.
I have an Illinois EB with deep purple fruit and a white house and after the 25 years they’ve coexisted I’ve read a lot more reports about potential staining than I’ve seen stains (haven’t noticed any). Is this really a possible consequence or just one of those repeated myths based on a reasonable concept? Birds don’t poop sideways so I suspect any stains will be on you car or roof and only the car will be a nuisance, but the color a non-factor.
The tree is far enough from my house for there to be no overhanging limbs. The majority of their pooping probably occurs while they are in the trees. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed a strong correlation between poop on the windshield and parking under a tree- even one without fruit.
true black mulberries(nigra’s) actually have ‘sticky’ stains, especially when tracked indoors by kids into carpets.
also stains concrete tenaciously, be it the fruits or bird poop with digested black mulberry pulp
true nigras seem to do well only along west coast and southwest. It is hands down the best-tasting mulb, if not for the staining caveat
albas/rubras and supposed hybrids are not as staining on concrete, but may also be difficult to remove from carpets.
pakistani’s(which are albas) come in reds and purples, but are not as staining
I think we’re confusing morus alba and white-fruited mulberries here. The two are not identical, and if you’re concerned about staining, you should be interested mostly in the latter (which will admittedly probably be an alba).
I can’t recommend any named varieties, but I’ve found white fruit to be only a little less common than dark purple fruit in the wild around here. I’ve got one local tree I’m hoping to propagate whose fruit is edible white, but will turn a light lavender color if you wait. They do seem to stain less, if my fingers are any guide. I haven’t noticed much connection between color and flavor; all of the wild trees are pretty variable.
I kind of suspect that mulberries normally have two pigments in them: red and purple. You can see this in the berries as they ripen, usually turning red before they turn black. Some trees just don’t make the red dye. Less dye, less stain.
for clarification, all white-fruited or pink-fruited mulberries are morus albas, and many dark-fruited mulberries are also albas. The rest(that are not albas) of dark-fruited mulbs are either rubras/hybrids, or nigras
So, there is no such thing as white fruit from morus nigra tree? I am asking because a nursery that I like is offering a “White persian (morus nigra “alba”)” variety this year.
i really doubt it. Maybe it is possible(considering that hybrids could happen), but not probable.
it is pretty much a marketing ploy, especially if the nursery is actually out of the zones where nigra’s actually do well.
in one of the threads, gerardi/geraldi dwarf has been mentioned as an actual hybrid. It is cold-tolerant and humidity-tolerant as most albas, and dwarfish/slow-growing like nigras. Taste is much better than average alba, but far from the ‘fireworks’ of true nigras
There’s a white fruited (alba) mulberry one town over from me, in the yard of a friend. The fruits are good and sweet, not grassy but they seem to only have that one note. They are great dried, but I never seem to dry enough of them
Reminds me I have to let my friend tell me when they are ripe this year again.
My huge old trees are white fruited. The fruit is lightly flavored, but taste vaguely like honey. They never change from white color even if overripe enough to drop.
Not enough flavor oomph for cooking but a real treat fresh.
I ordered a box elder a few years back and was sent a white mulberry by mistake. I didn’t notice the difference until the tree was large enough to fruit well. I agree with the sugar water description. Sweet but otherwise flavorless.
